


We stay in the darkness (to protect those in the light)

by KillingJoke98



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga), Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: A ghoul in a world full of humans, Always Has Been, And terrifed, Kaneki Ken is Kirito, Kaneki Needs a Hug, Multi, Overpowered Kaneki Ken, The last of his kind, Those that knew Kirito are confused, Well - Freeform, and friends, everyone's terrified of him, he's lonely, i hope this works
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:02:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24148642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KillingJoke98/pseuds/KillingJoke98
Summary: There is a rumour going around in Aincrad. Players whisper of a individual, always in a cloak, always with a glowing sword. He shows up when all is lost and saves those that need help, fighting against insurmountable odds just to fade into the shadows when he was done. They call him an angel, watching over the people trapped in the game.Kaneki "Kirito" Ken would beg to differ. He was the furthest thing from an angel.Or in other words,in one universe, Kirigaya "Kirito" Kazuto would liberate Aincrad. In this one, he cracks, and shatters, and dies. Kaneki Ken is left to pick up the pieces. He doesn't know why he's here, or who put him here, but he knows one thing.He would save them.And he would tear down this wretched world pixelated brick by pixelated brick to do so.
Relationships: Kaneki Ken and Argo, Kaneki Ken and Yuuki Asuna
Comments: 10
Kudos: 68
Collections: Identity Crisis





	1. Synapses Firing

**Author's Note:**

> The final step in coming home. The first chapter of my reboot for the other story! Time to figure out if I can juggle four stories at once. Let’s see how this one goes. A little context for this story. One, Kaneki is Kirito, but not exactly. The story should explain that relatively well in the first chapter. Anyhow, let’s begin. Tell me what you think of it. 

Kirigaya “Kirito” Kazuto was a socially inept teenager whose life revolved around technology. Ever since he had discovered that he had been adopted by his aunt and uncle, raised as their own, he had realized that he would never belong, even if his “family” treated him as their own. And he carried this mentality through life, always a short step away from just disappearing from his “family”. His parents were dead. He had been fed a lie his entire life. 

So when Kirito was trapped in the Death Game of Sword Art Online, he gritted his teeth, said goodbye to Klein and ran. He ran, and ran, and ran. In another universe, one more commonly known to people, this would allow him to get a head start on those that were stuck in the Town of Beginnings, paralzed by their own fear. It would be the first step in a long, lonely road, which would eventually end in victory. He would become the Black Swordsman, defeating the creator of the game himself in a fight to the death, with all the lives of the remaining players in SAO on the line. And this victory would save the people who had been trapped in the Death Game. After two years of fighting and dying in a world which didn’t exist, the survivors of SAO would be liberated. 

This is not that story. 

In this story, it would not be the socially inept, but strong-willed teen that dived into Sword Art Online to further escape from reality. The realization that he had been trapped in a world where dying in a game meant dying in real life, his mind fractured and splintered before finally snapping on his way out of the Town of Beginnings. Instead of travelling to the next town, he would look for something else. A high-leveled dungeon, one that would be manageable for any player level four and above, but for a newbie like him at level one, it would take the most skilled player in all of SAO to defeat the dungeon, and that would be with a proper strategy in mind and more than a few health potions. It was a sister spot to the one that Asuna Yuuki would soon find herself in, searching for an escape route from Sword Art Online. Kirito, armed with only the swords that he had been given at the beginning of the game, fought for an entire day and night, until his swords shattered and his last bit of health was chipped away. And as the final blow dropped his health to zero, he felt a single shred of remorse for the people he would leave behind in real life. 

In the real world, the still body of one Kirigaya Kazuto twitched at the same time his virtual avatar shattered into glass, the NerveGear on his head beeping once, but falling silent afterwards. He remained comatose as he was transported to the hospital in which all the people who had fallen victim to Kayaba Akihiko’s scheme, but not dead despite the fact that he had died in the virtual world. Not dead like those who unfortunately had their brains cooked like eggs as their family and friends removed the devices that imprisoned them, or even the desolate few who had decided that death was the only way to escape the game. Unknown to all, the world trembled as things began to shift and change. 

As the monsters in the dungeon began to reset and those that had been destroyed began to respawn as the final bits of glass coming from the shattered avatar that had once housed the mind of Kirito disintegrated into pixels. As the last shard began to gleam and dematerialize, it paused. The various monsters in the dungeon began to turn back towards the glowing outline of a figure that they had just killed, the artificial intelligences that piloted the bodies of these rudimentary beings registering a new target to hunt. Kirito’s avatar materialized, eyes confused, but they sharpened and lost their haze as the first monster charged to attack. 

It was dodged almost effortlessly, punched with such force that the monster shattred into polygons before the AI could even register the fact that the body that it piloted was dead. Kirito twisted and fought only with his bare hands, not even hesitating even as he fought several enemies at once. Each monster was blown back with a single punch or kick, defeated with ruthless efficiency. Not with the grace of a player who had hours and hours of experience in a game that allowed them to shamelessly abuse every small advantage they knew about, but with the feral(almost animalistic) savagery of a warrior that had fought with their life on the line. More hours passed as he waged a silent war against the endless waves of monsters in the dungeon he had just perished in, and it would be another day before his enemies were defeated, the last of them shattering into the shards of glass that represented death. A brief fanfare played, and digital confetti materialized, raining down silently from the air. Kirito stretched out a single hand and allowed a single piece of the confetti to land gently on it. He stared at it curiously, even as it disappeared. A screen appeared, in front of the player, with “Congratulations!” written on it in a large, bold font along with a button below, the words “Claim Rewards” labelling it. Kirito stretched a hand out and hesitantly touched the words, jumping slightly when a sword slowly formed in his outstretched hand. A very familiar sword. It looked almost like a typical katana, but the blade shimmered and glowed, flickering betweent the metallic grey of a regular sword and the blood red, almost organic colour of something that had been harvested from a living creature and turned into a weapon. 

Kaneki “Kirito” Ken smiled and sheathed the blade that he had been gifted, once by a man that he had once known, the closest thing to a father that he had once had. Now, it had been returned to him in a world where the lines between reality and fiction had been erased, a reward for the blood that he had spilt. His eyes took in the new surroundings that he had found himself in, eyes drifting from the strange bars and text that hovered in the air, following him as he turned and shifted on the spot. Raising a hand, he swiped downwards and stared bemusedly at the small icons that had appeared with his action. Poking experimentally at one with the icon of an evelope(which had been flashing, for some reason), he was rewarded with a single message. He read it out loud, the only sound in the silence of the dungeon.

“Welcome to Sword Art Online, Kaneki Ken. We hope you enjoy your stay.” he paused, and scratched his head in confusion. 

“I always wondered if there was an afterlife. This is definitely not what I was expecting.”

* * *

Kaneki spent about an hour looking through the helpful file that had been attached to the singular message in his “inbox”. It had every piece of information he lacked, from the basics of this “Sword Art Online” that he had appparently been trapped in to the various “Sword Skills” that this world offered as a form of aid to those who did not have a shred of fighting experience. He tested several of these out, noting with interest that the file’s information was correct, from the momentary pauses that the skills enforced on the user after they had been used to the fact that he was only able to use those that were located in the “One-handed sword” category. It was understandable, and from the little knowledge of video games that he had, this would be considered a “balancing feature”. What he was still confused about was how  _ convenient _ all this had been. He, a ghoul who had perished after a long and bloody crusade, had somehow been deposited in this avatar, this “Kirito” with all the knowledge he would need to gain an edge in the fights against the monsters that guarded each level of “Aincrad”. It was information that he so desperately needed, and would have taken many hours of searching and gathering to figure out. But it was also information that had been carefully compiled by someone who had known that he would have needed to be updatd on the situation he had been dropped in. It was interesting, at the very least. Also suspicious and overly convenient, but that was the least of Kaneki’s worries at this point of time. He could worry about unknown individuals messing around with his life even after he had died after he managed to get out of Sword Art Online.  _ Plus,  _ he smirked,  _ dying a second time wouldn’t change much. _

He unsheathed his sword, tapping it. When a small screen popped up, he tapped the button labelled “Check” and smiled softly at the description. In a world where he was most likely the only one of his kind(in both the virtual and real world), it was a comfort for something so familiar to follow him into the second battlefield that he would have the misfortune to be forced to step on. Exiting the page and resheathing his sword, the ghoul stretched and experimentally attempted to crack a knuckle. Kaneki was rewarded with a satisfying crack, plus a sharp jab of pain that he had gotten used to a lifetime ago. He frowned. As lifelike as this world had appeared to be, one thing the information booklet had emphasized was that there was no sensation of pain(which was understandable, because who would want to play a game and feel how it was like to be disemboweled or die?), and yet he had just been able to do the same gesture that he had picked up from the  person  monster that had tried to break him(perhaps he had even suceeded) and had his life ended by a child with an unhealthy obsession with knives. That would be problematic. The main basis of not allowing pain to exist in this world allowed people to sacrifice limbs and take damage without suffering any of the mental backlash that came with it. He would feel every single hit.  _ But then again, _ he smirked somewhat bitterly, _ pain was an old friend _ . He began to walk, following the small map in his “HUD” and pieces of a plan began to whir and fit into place. This was a classic RPG game, with a levelling system that relied on the gaining of experience points and better equipment through fighting. From the battle he had just been in, it was clear that he wasn’t at the same “level 1” that all players started at(and a quick check of his statistics confirmed his suspicions). Perhaps the people who had callously dropped him in the game hadn’t taken into account how the system would react to a ghoul. He hadn’t needed a weapon to destroy those monsters. According to the information he had been sorting out in his brain, the “cursor” above an enemy’s head indicated how difficult the fight would be according to the colour. So far, the most he had seen was a light green. In that case, he would have an edge over the other people trapped here. 

So what was his goal? Clear the 100 floors of Aincrad and escape with whoever remains when they finally reach the summit? What would happen to him after that? He was a dead man walking, possessing the avatar of someone he didn’t know. In the off chance that the individuals who had plucked him from his eternal rest and deposited him here had manufactured the avatar just for him, then he would cease to exist once the game was cleared. But if this body originally belonged to a player, and that player had  _ died _ , replaced by a monster clad in human flesh, then what would happen when he woke up? How would he explain the new person in the body of someone’s brother, someone’s son, someone’s friend? He chuckled to himself at the situation he was in. It seemed that he could never catch a break. Kaneki, now Kirito to anyone who would meet him in this “game”, spoke aloud despite there being nobody to hear him. 

“In the end, I guess the universe is telling me I’m better off alone.” and in the silence of a dungeon that had claimed the life of a boy who would have changed the fate of the artificial world he had dived into in a different universe, a weary monster walked out of his first battlefield in this new realm, the sole survivor. 

  
Just as it should be. Just as it always has been.    



	2. Motion sensors detecting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Argo meets Kirito. Kind of. Not really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 2 of my final reboot! Whoo-hoo! To tell you the truth, I’ve never really had a good image of SAO. I prefer most versions of Kirito from fanfics, rather than the one we know from canon. But that’s just my opinion. A lot of people start out their anime/manga journeys with SAO, so I thought it would be a way to revisit my early days of diving into mania. This is probably going to be a fix-it fic. I’ve never liked certain things about the plot. Let’s change that. 

A week. That was how long they had been trapped in the world of Sword Art Online. For most hardcore gamers, it wasn’t much different from a several night gaming session when attempting to grind in order to gain an edge over whatever raid boss you were planning on defeating. Yet, that was the beauty of the NerveGear. It simulated a game so real that you could mistake it for the true world. Which was also why so many people were still trying to come to terms with the fct that they had been removed from their everyday lives and tossed into a scenario where it was fight or die, and death was real. Oh so real. It was like feeling the scythe of the Grim Reaper himself gently kissing your neck as you tried to live your life normally. Argo sighed at the unfairness of it all, rubbing her eyes as she continued to pen down whatever knowledge she still retained of the SAO beta test. Judging from the information she had managed to acquire, whether through word of mouth or when she decided to scout on her own, the first floor of Aincrad was essentially identical to that of the one in the beta test, right down to the mobs themselves. That would mean that any knowledge she could provide would give players an edge against their enemies, and bring them one step closer to finishing the game. One small step. But a step nothentheless. In any other situation, she would have felt some semblance of relief at how predictable everything was. But this was not a regular game. It was one where every player risked their lives in every single fight, and would have to do so in order to escape. She had overheard some newbies quietly discussing how they should just stay in the Town of Beginnings until the authorities managed to break them out of the game. She had almost laughed at the notion, but the idea had also ruined her mood for the rest of the day. After all, most of the people currently trapped clearly thought the same way. Out of the ten thousand people in the game, about sixty to seventy percent remained in the safe zone, refusing to venture into the unknown. 

There were a handful of beta testers that had already begun to secure the best grinding spots on floor 1(and she scowled at the reminder of how selfish some people could be) while those new to the game attempted to figure out the best strategies to get stronger. Only a week, and people had already resigned themselves to being trapped in the game forever. Not like forever could last. It takes money to keep comatose patients alive, moreso when you need to keep the devices shackling them charged as well. Ten thousand people. Sooner or later, the world would move on. Get tired on spending funds on people who would rather stay in safety and waste away than fight for their freedom. And one day, they would start to pull the plugs keeping everyone alive.  _ Although,  _ a dark part of her mind whispered,  _ if enough people die, the remaining players will be kept alive longer _ . She pushed the traitorous thoughts out of her mind. Already, according to Kayaba Akhiko, two hundred and thirteen players had died because people from the real world had attempted to remove them from the game through a forced logout. It worked, if you could ignore the side-effects of cooking the player’s brain once they were disconnected from the game. She shivered. It was a terrifying prospect, not knowing what was happening to your body in real life. Finishing up the last chapter she had planned for the day, Argo closed the notebook she had been writing in and recalling it to her inventory. Leaning back in her chair, she tried to organize her thoughts.

People had attempted to throw themselves off the edge of the world, believing that it would allow them to leave behind the world of SAO. Several rumours of log-out points had also surfaced, and she had spent the past week scrambling to shut down the information before it could spread and using her network to ensure those who had heard the rumours wouldn’t try to do anything stupid. Argo frowned at the reminder of the missing piece in her network. Kirito, dubbed the “Black Swordsman” in the beta test for how he always wore clothes that were slightly differing shades of black and notorious for stealing the last hit bonus of field and raid bosses, much to the chagrin of the other players who had been participating in the raid. A true gamer, with enough skill in gathering and using information that she had been proud to call him one of the few people who would keep up with her. He had been so certain that he would secure a place in Sword Art Online when the full game launched, and yet she had gone one week without a single message from him or even a brief meeting. One day, she had visited the Momument of Life, idly looking through the sheer number of names on it(and feeling a pang of sorrow at those that were crossed out). She had found Kirito’s name on it. What was concerning about it was that unlike the neatly stricken-through names of the fallen, or the pristine nature of those of the living, his had been partially scratched out, almost as if someone had taken a knife to his name. Upon testing, she found that the Momument couldn’t take damage from regular attacks, considered an immortal object by the system. Looking around the stone had proved her suspicion that Kii-bou was a special case. But why? Why was his name partialy run through? And what did that have to do with her friend? Argo hoped that he was doing fine, worried despite the fact that the game clearly detected him as a living being. His puzzle was a constant reminder in her mind that not all things were the same in this game. And naturally, that was why she had carefully put disclaimers beside the information she was planning to put into a Beginner’s Guide in order to motivate more players to fight, just to ensure that uncomfirmed information was clearly noted. While she dealt in cash and data, she would never stoop as low as some of the more dirty brokers in the beta test and play with the lives of other people. Especially now, where respawns were no longer a thing. Rocking her chair back and forth, she considered the other popular rumour that had started to spread amongst the player community. People spoke almost reverently about a person in a white cloak that possessed a glowing sword. Someone who appeared when players were overwhelmed by the mobs they had attempted to fight and cut down the monsters like they were level 1 slimes. Many a player had tried to do it solo, returning a few days later to add another scrap of information to the very limited character sheet that she had started to make of this “guardian angel”. 

Some claimed that the person was an NPC gone rogue, others(the more bitter ones) muttered about how it was probably a beta tester that had gotten a rare loot drop and was using it to steal experience points from other people. Every time she heard one of the people turning this rather confusing but relieving rumour into something about the “filthy beta testers”, she had to suppress the urge to stab someone. Because of how prominent this rumour was, Argo had begun to do a little digging. The information broker was impressed by the sheer number of reported sightings this mystery individual had. Unfortunately, what most people glimpsed was just a blur or two, ripping through mobs before vanishing just as quickly as it had appeared. There were also parts of her network that spoke to her about how this guardian angel could somehow go from one end of floor 1 to the other at perhaps a third of the time one would need to sprint the distance, even if they put all of their(admittedly meager) skill points into stealth. While the whispers were widespread, the sheer impossibility of a player managing to perform such feats of speed and power led her to believe that someone had started the rumour in order to give hope to the players. She snorted. A false symbol of hope. Wondering how exactly she should go about crushing this act of misguided goodwill(although good for morale, it would definitely lead to overconfident people throwing themselves into danger and expecting someone to save them), the chime of a notification attracted Argo’s attention. Casually opening her mailbox, she glanced at the contents of the new message before freezing and rereading it. Closing it, she equipped her cloak and weapons, exiting the inn she was currently residing in, mind racing at breakneck speed. Perhaps she would be able to get some answers after all.

* * *

**From: Kirito**

**Suject: Information**

**Meet me here. [location pin attached]**

* * *

After checking the map to ensure that she wasn’t being(for any inane reason) lured into a trap, for Kii-bou had not even sent a word of greeting in his brief message, she carefully stepped into the clearing, wondering how the player had found such a spot. Briefly stumbling over something hard, she looked down to see the remnants of a tree stump. Searching the area with a glance, she noted the tens(maybe even hundreds) of tree stumps surrounding the grass clearing.  _ Had he felled the trees? And if so, why?  _ Running through a list of the items she had that would allow her to safely escape in the event of an attempted PK(a couple of health pots, antidotes and even a crystal that would allow her to teleport back to the Town of Beginnings), she approached the only other human there. Despite the fact that her Hiding skill should have been high enough to muffle her footsteps despite how low-levelled she was(they all were, so that pretty much balanced it out), she noticed the miniscule flinch of the other hooded player as they got to their feet. Turning around as he removed the hood, Kii-bou revealed an effiminate face that bordered on that of a girl(a far cry from the handsome man he had pretended to be in the beta). His eyes betrayed nothing about his thoughts, even though she knew that Kii-bou was one of the few people who wore their heart upon their sleeve, it was just that no one ever thought to look for a heart in a person which they assumed didn’t have one. She stopped about two meters away from him and once again, searched his gaze for any hint of recognition. None were found, and she felt a pang of resentment mixed with wariness. For one, it could just mean that Kii-bou had quickly moved on after the beta and forgotten about her. However, it could also mean that this was someone who had somehow hijacked his account. She forced herself to remain calm. It wouldn’t be good if she lashed out at someone who she (probably)didn’t know. A few moments of silence passed before he started to speak in a monotonous tone that was just a smidge away from empty. Argo glanced at the top of his head, rereading the name “Kirito” that hovered there several times just to reassure herself that she was fine. 

“I didn’t expect you to show up. But then again, I guess that you knew previous me,” and before she could start to ask questions, he had already moved on with his sentences, “judging from the look on your face. I’m Kirito’s brother. Borrowed his NerveGear to test it out before he came home, got stuck in the game alongside everyone else.” not-Kirito shrugged almost nonchalantly.

“Better me than him. Although he would probably beg to differ.” he extended a hand in greeting, and she hesitated for a moment before shaking it twice and tensing ever so slightly at how cold the hand was. All player temperatures should be regulated, especially since they weren’t in a winter biome just yet. It was another thing that contributed to the warning alarm blaring in her head. Some of the confusion and suspicion must have shown on her face, because Kirito(this wasn’t Kii-bou) laughed, a short chuckle that did anything but make her feel more comfortable in this situation. He stopped chuckling just as quickly as he had started, brushing imaginary dust off one shoulder. 

“I’m not here to kill you. I just thought that you might want the map data that I’ve been collecting the past week. Swiping in midair and summoning a screen, he tapped a few buttons before flicking his hand towards her. A chime, and she received another message from the stranger dressed as a friend. Carefully opening the file, her eyes widened at the sheer amount of data in it. Almost all of the first floor had been mapped, including the prominent dungeons and even a few small ones that would be good for any newbies that would pick up their courage and join the fight. She couldn’t help but let out a small noise of surprise, which got a soft smile in response. 

“To get all this information...how long have you been grinding?” Kirito scratched a cheek sheepishly, a gesture that was just so Kii-bou that it made her heart ache. If, and that was a big  _ if _ , this guy was his brother, it would make sense considering that they even had the same nervous ticks. He looked to the ground, and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like “five days”. Argo rolled her eyes, earlier panic forgotten for the time being. Reaching over to gently cuff his across the head, she folded her arms over her chest and attempted to convey the disappointment she felt through her gaze alone. Judging from the squirming, it was working. 

“Look, Kirito, I don’t know why you’ve replaced Kii-bou, or if you’re even his brother, but why must the two of you be so reckless? Please don’t tell me you’re a noob.” Kirito shrugged, tilting his hand in a 50/50 gesture that made her want to smack him a second time. Upon further glaring, the teenager crumbled and nodded defeatedly. She resisted the urge to facepalm.

“So let me get this straight. You’ve never played the game before,” a nod, “got told that your life was forfeit if you died in game,” a noise of affirmation, “and you decided to spend five days mapping out every inch of the first floor?” Kirito opened his mouth, most likely to protest, before closing it and nodding once more. If Argo was a lesser woman, she would have already begun to scream at the newbie for risking his life for map data. She settled for another glare. Kirito flinched, but something in his eyes conveyed the feeling that he wasn’t as remorseful as he let on. She pinched the bridge of her nose, wondering how she had managed to swap one game-addicted teenager for one that clearly had no sense of self preservation. 

“It’s too early for this,” pointedly ignoring the way his eyes darted to the clock always located on the HUD, “so let me say a few things. Firstly, don’t ever do something like that again. I don’t know how lucky you are, but luck runs out. I do not want your death on my conscience. Secondly, did you happen to get the stats of the mobs you were fighting and their weaknesses?” and this was why people in the beta thought that she would sell her own grandmother for the right price. Rather than dissuading a new player from throwing himself into danger, she was encouraging it with her actions and contradicting her words. Thankfully, Kirito didn’t seem to notice, pulling up another file and sending it to her. Skimming the bare minimum of it, her eyes widened at the sheer amount of information he had managed to compile. Similar to her notebook, he had listed each and every monster, including statistics, weaknesses and counters. Argo had found an information gold mine. Ensuring to save the file and ignoring how Kirito’s lips were twitching to form a smile, she blurted out a proposition. 

“You clearly know what you’re doing, even though you’ve never played before. How about an exchange? You provide me data and some of your loot and I’ll teach you everything you need to know about this game. Deal?” he arched an eyebrow, but his smile had widened into a grin. 

“Sounds like a bad trade, but I’m fine with that. I have one condition though. Any information you have on fake log-out points and trap dungeons. I want them. If you think that’s reasonable, then we have a deal.” not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth and having a sneaking suspicion that Kirito was going to make her life a lot easier, she nodded, sticking out her hand for a handshake. He responded in kind, hand now warmer than it had been in the beginning. She broke the contact in order to send him all the information he had asked for. Shooting her a grateful look, he tugged the hoodie back on to conceal his hair and parts of his face. She did the same. 

“You’re a nice person Argo. I’ll see you around.” he had already spun around and started walking away. 

“Don’t die or I’ll kill you myself.” her warning was met with a two finger salute. She snickered. Kirito. An interesting person had replaced Kii-bou in this game of lives. She couldn’t wait to see what he could do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all for today. How'd I do? I'm trying something new with each story, and this one is no exception. It'll probably be shorter than the others, but eh. I'm making this up as I go along. I really do hope this works. Anyway, did you enjoy it? Tell me what you thought of the chapter. See ya.


	3. Clench your fists

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaneki meets Asuna and thinks about his life choices. Not in that order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I’ve always wondered why certain categories in fanfiction are so empty. So far, the only decent crossover between Tokyo Ghoul and SAO that I’ve seen was...what was it? The One-Eyed Swordsman or something like that. I believe it’s a dead fic now. Anyway, I don’t really know where I’m going with this. Let’s begin. I hope anyone who’s reading this enjoys.

Kaneki hummed to himself while cutting down another monster, not stopping to hear it shatter into polygons as he dashed towards the next and drove Yukimura ⅓ into the next. Something about this situation was an uncomfortable reminder of real life. In which a single strong ghoul would tear through the mountains of Doves thrown at them, and maybe the ghoul would lose in the end but the price would be paid in blood and the lives of people who thought they were fighting to protect their families, the people they knew(and sometimes it was true, but whenever he wondered if he was doing the wrong thing, he would remember a crazed investigator and a girl who had to watch her mother die). In the end, there wasn’t really good or evil in the world. Just people fighting other people. And that was what made the world turn. In order for someone to be happy, another had to suffer. Once upon a time, when his hair was still black and he believed in sacrificing yourself for the greater good, he would have protested against the fact(and didn’t that make him a hypocrite?). Now, after all he had been through, all that he had seen and done...sometimes he wished that he had died when Yamori had torn his mind apart. And yet, here he was now. Thrown onto another battlefield by someone, or something that was unknown to him. One rule. Kill or be killed. Kaneki smiled and bent backwards as a punch reeled towards his face, twisting around to deliver a kick to the outstretched arm and separating it from its body. Following up with a quick jab, he wondered if it was a bad thing to wish for more challenging enemies. Then again, this was floor 1 of 100. There was a long road ahead of him. Yukimura ⅓, brought into this game alongside him, hungered for the blood that didn’t run through the veins of those he cut down. Luckily, game logic made it so that it still fed from the enemies before him. Useful ability, but one he had concealed and would continue to conceal until it could pass as a boss drop or a really lucky monster drop. It was a bad thing to stand out, moreso when your allies may be the only thing standing between you and certain death. Kaneki had already spent one life with a giant target on his back, taking up the mantle of the One-Eyed King in order to draw the fury of the Doves who thought he had killed the closest thing to a father he had once known. Suppressing the unwanted memories, Kaneki briefly tapped on the strength and speed that he possessed in reality and now in the game, blurring and reappearing a few seconds after, sheathing his blade as the last mobs in the dungeon shattered. As powerful as he currently was, he still didn’t have enough data on how bosses worked in order to determine whether or not he would be able to solo one of them. Fighting alone was fine. Fighting while trying not to buckle under the hatred of thousands of people was another thing entirely. Yep, once was definitely enough. Ignoring the fanfare that sounded every single time he cleared a dungeon, for it grated on his nerves(something so cheery seemed to mock the fact that this was a game of life and death) ever since he had first heard it and checked the amount of Cor piling up in his wallet. With barely anything to spend it on except the two beginner level swords(although if he managed to coax some information out of Argo, he might not even need them) and the throwing picks he constantly carried around for ambushes, he had an ample amount of virtual money. Kaneki briefly contemplated if he should tell the mousy information broker that he could actually afford her outrageous prices, then resolved to use it at a future date to see if he could fluster the joker. 

He had also kept up a healthy stack of bread in his inventory(hunger was a thing in this game, how quaint) because he could finally  _ eat  _ again. The first time he had half-heartedly tried a bite of a sandwich Argo had offered him as payment for his services, Kaneki had to stamp down the urge to cry at how  _ good _ it was to taste something other than coffee and flesh after years of not being able to do so. Although he was still unsure whether or not his new business partner(she had known Kirito, and it was with a calm tone that didn’t match the panic he felt that he had convinced her that he was just someone else using the same NerveGear, not a ghoul piloting a corpse) had noticed the tears forming in his eyes because she had abruptly left, leaving him to find a quiet spot to silently weep for all the things he had lost. Of course, Kaneki had to fight the urge to constantly consume all the types of food available in Aincrad because one, it was suspicious and two, a waste of money. However, that didn’t mean he had a minor celebration, with no one but a few confused NPCs around to watch, when he had accidentally stumbled onto a repeatable quest that allowed him to get cream to go with the bread. As empty as his inventory was, for Yukimura ⅓ didn’t need anything but blood to maintain and upgrade, a good few slots were dedicated just to food and drinks. Oh, and a good stack of health potions and the occasional crystal. In all honesty, he should probably stock up more on healing crystals, but considering the only reason they got used was the fact that he kept having to save players who thought themselves hotshots at the game after killing a few Wild Boars and mastering the most basic of Sword Skills. One day, he would leave these people to the dogs. For goodness sake, they were in a game, yes, but a game that was wired so that  _ dying in here meant dying in real life _ . “It’s just a game” wasn’t an excuse for practically throwing your life away. So, ever since the first day he had found a shaking, trembling girl about to die at the hands of the monsters roaming this world(she was only  _ fourteen _ ), he had devoted a good part of his days to patrolling spots he knew could kill the unwary and make sure no more people died. The ones who chose to jump from the edge of the world, on the other hand, were much harder to save. Kaneki had already lost count of the number of times he had thrown himself off Aincrad in order to slingshot someone back with momentum and more than a fair bit of luck. The only thing he could do for them was talk them into choosing a better way to spend their lives. He couldn’t save everyone, but he would damn well try. Sleep wasn’t a problem anyway. 

Diverting a duo that were hanging outside the cave he had just cleared once again(there were several spots on the map that would just spawn endless hordes of mobs, luckily, he was a fast fighter) to another location that was much more beginner-friendly, he brought up his map to check if there were any death traps he had missed. Tapping the last spot he had marked on the map, Kaneki briefly went back to the conversation between Argo and himself about fake log out spots. This was the last one he had to check and clear for the day. Thankfully, such trap locations only had a certain number of monsters they could spawn per day(probably to avoid breaking the system) and while this number could go into the hundreds, he was easily worth whatever the game could throw at him. Briefly, he wondered if he would be called a hacker if his strength was revealed to those trapped alongside him. Dismissing the thought(again, it was a bridge he could burn another day), Kaneki began running to the final hotspot, equipping his cloak as he did so. Like his weapon, the cloak was a thing from his past, a combination between the outfit of a dove and the hoodie he sometimes used to conceal his identity along with his mask, and it had a nifty speed and defense buff that was very handy for his “wade into enemies like you’re going into the sea” strategy that he had adopted for the Zerg rushes(it was hilarious to think of the hordes like that considering he was fighting the top tier mobs of floor 1) in order to maximise efficiency. It was not rare for item drops to be too much for his inventory to handle, and thus he had been giving them to Argo(the sheer amount was not helping her perception of him as suicidal) and being the most major supplier of raw items and drops to a kind player called Agil who constantly offered to pay him back(one of these days he was going to drop a stack of Cor on his desk and leave). In a sense, he could be considered that “guardian angel” everyone seemed to be talking about nowadays. However, something in his gut churned unpleasantly every time he thought of the things he had done and how he was practically atoning for his sins. The reputation was useful for quietly nudging things in the correct direction(unsurprisingly, there were underage players) like the children’s home he had convinced someone to help run or the spreading of information in the form of the Beginner’s Handbook that he had helped Argo refine with stats he had gotten through sheer grinding and other things he had noted while fighting. It wasn’t much, but it was honest work. And he was always reminded of Hinami when he visited the children of Aincrad, so that was just another reason to strengthen his resolve. 

Not stopping, path already memorized, he entered the dungeon. Normally, it was silent, but today there were the familiar noises of the mobs that he regularly killed like he was taking out the trash, and a quick scan allowed him to detect the brief flashes of light that came with Sword Skills coming from the midst of a horde. Taking a fraction of a second to appreciate the way the player seemed to turn into a shooting star every time they lunged(rapier, quick recovery meant that the Sword Skill used was probably <Linear>) even as he unsheathed his weapon, Kaneki dived into battle with a simple slash. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the player collapsing to the ground, rapier chipped and damaged, and switched his objective from “kill” to “protect”. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to gather the fencer’s safety if he just attempted to bulldoze through the horde as per normal, he positioned himself in front of the fallen player, never spending too long on one monster so that he had the time to cut down the next. It was stress inducing, and it took every single one of his honed reflexes and an unhealthy amount of compartmentalizing to ensure that he didn’t get overwhelmed on all sides(although his back would probably be complaining later about how much he twisted and bent to compensate for the fact that he was  _ surrounded _ ). Snarling in response to the angry roars of the monsters, he increased his speed as much as he dared, not wanting to burn out before his task was complete. 

While Kaneki still retained a ghoul’s strength, speed, durability and most handy of all, regeneration, he still lacked a kagune. Also, there was the fact that if he pushed himself too far, his avatar would start folding underneath the stress put on it(it appeared that for all of Kayaba Akhiko’s genius, his programmes were unable to process a non-human). So, yeah, not dying via game bug was also on his list of things to remember. Yukimura ⅓ glowed and pulsed faster with each thing he sliced apart, further boosting his abilities and allowing him to level the playing field. It was very nice to have a weapon that could keep up with yourself. Pivoting on a single foot(and ignoring how his ankle protested), he spun in a low arc and carved the monsters closest to the duo into half, before returning his attention to the unconscious player as the final one shattered and dropped him more loot that he didn’t exactly need. Removing the hood of the player, he whistled at the, very frankly, beauty that had concealed her identity under a ragged cloak. Checking her name(Asuna was a curious video game name, but there was probably a story behind that) as he picked her up, Kaneki wondered if it was worth it to drop her off with Argo and risk more interrogation or it would be better to just bring her back to his house. Weighing his options carefully, he sighed when Asuna stirred in her sleep before falling still. He had always been a sucker for beautiful people with issues that, a long time ago, made his problems seem pathetic. Sending a quick message to notify Argo that he had checked the latest fake log out spot and found nothing special(and resolving to torture the monster who had decided to spread such rumours), he began to run.

* * *

Asuna Yuuki was having a rough week. Out of curiosity, she had tried her brother’s NerveGear to figure out what all the fuss was about. Then she had been trapped in a game and when she had followed the rumours of a hidden log out point, she had been forced to fight what seemed like an endless horde of monsters. It just wasn’t fair. All her life, she had tried to be the good girl that her parents always wanted her to be. And now, it was all for naught, especially since there was no telling how long she would be trapped. When Asuna finally got back to the real world, out of this stupid game, she would be so far behind that her parents would always be disappointed with her. And it was that thought that led her to keep fighting, despite the fact that her death was almost certainly guaranteed if she did so. Because she might as well say goodbye to her life if all she would be met with once she woke up was disappointment and disdain. And she had made peace with her death. She had almost stopped fighting. Then he had shown up. Like an avenging angel, cutting down the monster that was going to kill her, with a sword that made hers seem like a toy. All the fatigue and shock finally took its toll, and Asuna had passed out, her last sight being the imposing figure the mystery man struck even in comparison to the monsters that towered over him. Now, she was in...a bed? Rubbing her eyes, she sat up in the admittedly comfortable bed, looking around the unfamiliar room to see another person sleeping in a chair. Since he was asleep, she took the time to check if her things were still on her(and the answer to that was yes), before studying his appearance. 

The almost regal cloak that he had worn was absent, replaced by a simple black shirt accompanied by grey pants. His sword was resting against the wall, now the normal colour of steel one would expect from the weapons in this game, completely different from the red, almost alive blade that he had used to carve up the monsters that she had been struggling with. His face was effeminate, and his white hair tied into a small ponytail that was draped over his shoulder. Considering her chances of escaping this place without him noticing, she was about to slip out of the bed when his eyes flickered open. Holding none of the tiredness she would have expected from someone who had abruptly woken up, his eyes snapped directly to look at her, and Asuna froze, pinned under the glare of two eyes that reminded her of her mother. That illusion was broken as soon as he blinked, gaze thawing and becoming more kindly as he stood up, leaving his sword in its place. 

“Good to see that you’re awake Miss Fencer. Or can I call you Asuna?” she startled at the mention of her name, reaching for a sword that wasn’t there. He picked up on her fear and backed away,hands raised in surrender. 

“How do you know my name?” a brief flicker of surprise crossed his face at the question, then he muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “noob” underneath his breath before tapping his eyes. 

“I sent you a party invite while you were unconscious and used your hand to accept it. Look to the corner of your HUD and you’ll be able to see my name as well.” briefly ignoring the fact that he said he had touched her while she was sleeping, Asuna tilted her head in order to try and see the name that he spoke off, but despite turning her head to the left and to the right, she couldn’t see anything. Sighing at her lack of success, he slowly edged forward, carefully bringing his hands up to her face while checking to see if she would react. When she allowed him to do so(he genuinely seemed to be trying to help), he fixed her head in place with his fingers before explaining. 

“If you move your head, you can’t see it. Just glance to the side, but don’t move your head.” she did as he advised, pleasantly surprised when two names, each with a green bar beneath them appeared in the corner of her field of vision. He stepped away while she read his name out loud. 

“Kirito...is that your name?” the white-haired boy winced, something like pain flashing on his face before he nodded with a grimace. Seeing that she was focused on him, Kirito offered a smile that didn’t help reduce her suspicions. 

“That’s my gamer tag. Now, Miss Fencer, can I ask why you were in one of the death traps on this floor?” her mood dulled considerably at the question, and Asuna lowered her head so she didn’t have to make eye contact with Kirito. She could still feel his stare burning into her head. 

“Does it matter? Why do you care?” Kirito huffed, and his words took on an undertone of frustration and concern. 

“Of course it matters if your life was in danger. So far the only people I’ve seen in them are those who were tricked, and those who wanted to die. Do you want to die, Miss Fencer?” she chuckled bitterly at the question, but didn’t answer. She had a feeling that Kirito knew what she was thinking anyway, judging from the soft growling. 

“Well, I’ve spent the days trapped in here saving people like you from dying. I’d appreciate it if my efforts didn’t go to waste, thank you very much. Life is precious, even if you don’t think that yours is. When was the last time you slept?” she struggled to recall the last memory of sleeping. How many days had it been? Asuna’s silence seemed to be enough of an answer, and there was another sharp exhalation. A soft squeak alerted her of the fact that he had sat down on the edge of the bed. 

“Look, even if you don’t care about living or dying, I’m going to make sure you stay alive. So until you manage to change that mindset of yours, I’ll be teaching you how to survive.” Kirito’s words were like a slap across the face, and she looked up and at him in disbelief. His eyes were hard, but there was concern and something else that she wasn’t sure of. 

“Why?” Asuna struggled to comprehend his logic. What did he gain from making sure she didn’t die? Why did he think that it was his duty to ensure she stayed alive? It was confusing and infuriating at the same time. Kirito gave a grin that was more of a grimace, something that spoke of pain and past suffering. 

“I hate it when people throw away their lives, only to regret it when it’s too late. If we’re all going to be trapped in this game for the foreseeable future, I might as well try to make sure enough people survive so that we actually have a fighting chance. You may not understand, Miss Fencer, but you will one day. Until then,” he placed a hand on her head, gently messing up her hair, “I’ll just have to take care of you.” she tried her best not to react to his touch. When was the last time someone had treated her so gently, and with so much warmth? Asuna had forgotten a time where her parents had been like this, and it stung to realize that this stranger, this eccentric and unnatural individual, had shown her more care and concern in the last few minutes than her parents had in years. She tried her best not to show that on her face. However, the slight tremors she could feel from the hand on her hinted at the fact that Kirito could see her emotions like they were written on her face. It withdrew from her head, and Asuna tried not to feel disappointed at the sudden lack of warmth. Kirito’s eyes had briefly hardened again, and the air seemed to get heavier the longer he remained with that frozen smile on his face. She felt a brief flash of fear. He gave her one last searching gaze before standing up, brushing imaginary dust off himself. 

“I’m going to cook a meal, there’s a bath if you want one.” time almost appeared to stop as she processed his words, and with strength she didn’t know she had, Asuna grabbed onto him and prevented Kirito from leaving. Dragging him back down to her eye level, she ground out a question. 

“Did you say that there was a bath?” he gave her a blank look, before nodding slowly and gesturing to a door behind him. Ignoring the yelp of surprise as she threw him to one side, Asuna practically leapt for the door and slammed it close, almost cheering when she saw the heavenly sight before her. Quickly testing the water and switching out her garments, she sunk into the water with a sigh of relief. It had been days since she had a warm bath. 

As she enjoyed the feeling of being clean and warm despite the fact that there was basically no way for her to get dirty, Asuna faintly heard Kirito laugh. The sound was soft, and she wondered if she was just imagining it. 

It was too light and happy, considering the darkness she had glimpsed in him. Was that how he sounded like when he didn’t act like the weight of the world was on his shoulders?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now. I'm adjusting canon, but some things will stay the same. Kaneki has had a rough life. If he was real, I'd give him a hug and never let go. Anyway, how did I do? I hope you enjoyed it.


	4. Raise your head high

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter today, got a lot on my mind. Need...sleep...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea where I’m going with this story. Don’t think I ever will. Love it. Let’s go!

Kirito was an interesting person. Asuna Yuuki knew that from the first time she had met him. He was a teenager just like her, and yet he held so much conviction. So much strength. She had a sneaking suspicion that even what shocking strength he had shown her wasn’t even all of it. After all, Asuna had almost died fighting in that dungeon, fighting for hours against monsters that barely flinched even as she utilized the one “Sword Skill” she had managed to figure out over and over again. Just before she could, he had swooped in like a mockery of a knight in shining armour, whirling and slashing. He had cut down two of them in one blow just before she had fallen into the realm of unconsciousness, and Asuna had woken up completely unscathed and in a bed. Unless Kirito had managed to pick her up and run out of the dungeon while avoiding any monsters, what he must have done was eliminate every single enemy before making his way out. That made him incredibly strong. So why would someone who was perfectly suited for playing this death game spending his time saving people like her. According to the little bit she had managed to get from her new companion in the days after he had saved her, his idea of something “fun” to do in his free time was run around Aincrad and ensure that no one fell to traps like she had almost done so. Although, he had admitted with a smile that was half sheepish and half nostalgic, he never did see why people thought that saving someone else was deserving of a reward. That had led to a discussion of about an hour on whether or not he should save people that didn’t want to be saved. A very awkward discussion that let her see more emotion from Kirito than she was comfortable with. Most of all a burning rage so hot that it was cold, like the harsh nip of frostbite on unprotected hands. He ended the conversation with a harsh sentence, one that struck her to the core long after he had left. Of course, Kirito had apologized for it afterwards, polite and kind but she never forgot the fact that he had slipped up and revealed a small portion of the anger that he held so closely to his heart. 

“Tell me, what am I supposed to do when I see someone throw themself off the top of a building? Smile and ask them to do a flip? Watch them die before my very eyes knowing that a person, a person with hopes and dreams and a future just disappeared and all the things they could possibly have done extinguished forever, was dead because I decided they should die? No. I will never stop saving people because while they may curse me one day, they may plot for my death and one day I might be the one falling and they may do nothing to save me but I know that it was the right thing to do. It is still the right thing to do. So you may tell me that I have no right to choose who lives and dies, but as long as I am alive and fighting I will continue to save whoever I can. Because life is precious and I will not stand to watch anyone throw that away. Not on my watch.” he practically choked out the last few words, slamming his sword into the ground so hard that the words [Immortal Object] materialized, and even then he continued hitting the ground, stopping only when a warning materialized instead of the purple words, one that stated he would be teleported to the nearest jail if he did not stop damaging property. He would then fling his sword into the wall where it stayed(for some reason an object that could be destroyed) and leave the place that had become her new residence. She would try to follow Kirito, but the teenager would only leave monsters disintegrating in his wake as his only mark on Aincrad. Asuna returned back to the farm and tried to remove the sword(she couldn’t). 

He was a conundrum, a puzzle waiting to be solved. And for all her bravado in the face of his ideals, she knew that facing Kirito in battle would be equivalent to facing down that dungeon all over again. Because despite the fact that he would spend hours, and then days teaching her everything from the Sword Skills that she could use to the several spots that were perfect for loot grinding, he was still someone with a lot of darkness in his heart. Darkness that was very unsettling. Something was off about him. Like watching a 3-D movie without the glasses to do so. Kirito was out of place in this world, or rather he was fitting right in. She had been to towns and other player populated areas, and while the fighters were somewhat skilled in activating Sword Skills and grinding for experience points, but Asuna could tell that they were learning to play the game from how they let the game directed abilities drag them along and the occasional hit due to overextending and not expecting the delay of the Sword Skills to be so long. Kirito had no such qualms. For one, he rarely used the gifts of the game apart from whenever he was teaching her the ropes. When he did so, he would use no more than the most basic of the One-Handed Sword Skills. While those didn’t do much damage on their own, Kirito had explained his strategy for using them in the way that he did. 

“See, Sword Skills do more damage than regular attacks but the more powerful the skill, the more delay you get after it's over. Which means if you don’t miraculously kill your opponent in one hit, or even if you managed to kill the mob and it has friends, you’d be dead where you stand. That’s why you were actually pretty lucky that [Linear] was the only one you managed to stumble upon Miss Fencer, because it was little more than a supercharged thrust that gives you a delay of maybe a fraction of a second. If you had used anything else, you would have died before I could have gotten to you. So taking a leaf from your book, I’ve fashioned this fighting style. By chaining together the Sword Skills, you’ll be able to do constant damage and the motion of the game-directed actions will be able to get you out of combat much faster than you could on your own. Unfortunately, the sheer ping-pong nature of what you’re supposed to do will probably ensure that you somehow manage to trick the game into giving you vertigo even though it shouldn’t be possible.” while Asuna had managed(with a lot of difficulty), to learn the magic fighting style that turned her into a bouncy ball, Kirito’s version of it was much more awe-inspiring. He used two simple steel swords at once, and managed to activate the One-Handed skills with  _ both of them _ one after the other, turning into a whirlwind of death. He could decimate a horde in about a minute, darting from place to place and leaving streaks of light in his wake. And then there was his sword. Not the ones he used when other people were around. It was the one he picked up when Kirito told her he was going to find a dungeon to pass the time. 

Asuna wasn’t high-levelled enough to check the sword, but he gave her a single, odd name. Yukimura ⅓. A sword with the name of a human was weird enough, but when you tacked on the fraction ⅓ at the end of it, the game was hinting at the fact that there were two more swords that belonged to this “Yukimura” set in the world, and for some inane reason, the first of the three had dropped into the white-haired teenager’s lap. She could feel the power emanating from it the one time she had been offered the sword to hold(it was too heavy for her and she immediately face-planted) and he wielded it like it was an extension of his body. Despite everything he had taught her, there were still some things that he left unsaid. She would be lying if she said that it wasn’t intimidating. That the person she had started to think was a friend, someone she was beginning to figure out had so many more hidden layers to him. An analogy for the situation would be stepping into a puddle and watching your foot sink straight into it, and your leg as well afterwards. She was starting to get pretty confused about his dual natures. At one point, he was the psychotic pseudo-god who could walk into dungeons over and over again with nothing but Yukimura and his own limbs and walk out unscratched. And then he was also the lazy teenager who one day decided to make Asuna carry him around(strength training, he said) just because he wanted to nap all day. That was actually pretty weird, now that she thought about it. Instead of waking up to a mouthwatering breakfast(one day she would have to max out the cooking skill, because the thing she would miss the most about Kirito would be his food), she had woken up to a body slumped over hers. Any attempts to move him had just ended up with the teenager shifting in order to make sure she was force to lift him as well if she wanted to walk around. 

Argo, an acquaintance or friend of Kirito(it was unclear, considering sometimes they bantered like old friends and she would gently scold him for being reckless, and other times they would only exchange words in a cold and professional manner) had turned up to use the bath and nearly died from laughing after seeing the situation they were in. Asuna was still unsure of whether or not Argo had taken pictures of them(although she guessed the answer was yes). The girl who went by the moniker “the Rat” was surprisingly understanding of her concerns. She had told him about how this Kirito was different from the one that she had known back in the beta test for Sword Art Online. How he acted old despite the fact that he was a teenager just like them. No form of self-care(she talked about the one time he had visited with a missing hand). All his concern was focused on those around him, and he was constantly on the verge of burning out because of it. Argo hadn’t known about Yukimura ⅓, and Asuna had quickly regretted telling her about it when the information broker’s eyes gleamed with hunger and the shorter girl would visit them for the next day just pestering Kirito about his weapon. His silent vengeance would come in the form of a perfectly normal looking breakfast that was apparently created with all the wrong ingredients. Her taste buds would cry out for mercy as he sipped on what appeared to be coffee, even though the beverage didn’t exist in this world. He would look her in the eyes, see the pain in them due to the terrible food and smile. A few hours later he would relent and give her a sandwich. So Asuna stil had mixed opinions on him. 

Then there was the thing that still plagued her thoughts even a week after she had first met the “Guardian Angel of Aincrad”, a title given to him just because he was apparently so good at saving people and so iconic that all the people that he had managed to release from the jaws of death had begun to tell stories about him was that Kirito refused to take that title. Every time either Asuna or Argo brought it up, he would say that he was the furthest thing from an angel amongst the players in this fake reality. He always seemed bitter after the topic was brought up, and they had quickly learned that it was a sore topic for the normally unruffled player. It was something that Asuna was still confused about. If he had the ability to save so many people, and he would risk life and limb in order to do such a thing, why would he not take credit for his good deeds? Why would he pretend that he was a completely different person from the one player in this world that threw everything he had into helping other people instead of just fending for himself. As one of the ones who had been saved, Asuna herself was inclined to think of the wise-cracking, sharp-eyed teenager of her own personal guardian angel. Her sword and shield even when she never wanted one in the first place. He had taught her why life had meaning, showing her the beauty around them, the beauty in the madness and explained to her his philosophy. Argo had said he was the main reason why the guidebook she had written was so detailed, constantly updated because of the efforts of one person and one person alone. Kirito had taken one look at this death game and brought it upon himself to bring hope back to life. The universal constant that was the driving force for about half the players on the front lines, fighting for their lives and for those of everyone else. And yet he never stood up for himself. Choosing to run himself into the ground every single day just because he could. It was like watching a machine soldier on without pause. Understandably, he held a place in her heart. His light illuminated her path and his darkness reminded her of what she had tried to throw away. Almost perfectly balanced between good and evil. An impossible person. Logical but emotional. Furious but always calm. A look in his eyes that spoke of untold horror, one that vanished whenever she saw it and was replaced by a glint that resembled a smile. So very interesting. Asuna still didn’t know what to think of her, even though he was the closest thing she had ever had to a friend. 

And yet, as they continued listening to the admittedly boring preparation for the boss battle, and a man with hair that looked like he had a cactus growing on his head marched up to Kirito, who had been the only one to speak up for the beta testers when they were accused of ditching all the other players, and told him that he was probably one of those “filthy beta testers” and would be better off dead, the uncertainty in her head was banished in an instance. Replaced by righteous rage on behalf of the person who could not get mad at anyone unless they were trying to throw away their lives, or himself. She gently unsheathed her rapier and in one quick motion, blipped behind the man and held it to his throat. Kirito looked unfazed, but a single eyebrow raised in surprise as the man spluttered. 

“Don’t talk to him like that,” she spoke and her words fell to the floor like blocks of ice(cold and hard), “I wouldn’t mind turning orange just because some guy couldn’t think before he spoke.” 

Yes, Kirito was an enigma, a glitch in the system. He was a paradox, a single torch bathed in the darkness of a night without a moon. He frightened her, but she also felt safe around him. He was a monster given human form, and a human pretending to be a demon. She knew that he would be the eye of the storm. 

This was Asuna’s Kirito. And she was alright with all of that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of introspection as I try to figure out what way this is going. A little break from my own head. See ya.


	5. Bare your teeth and smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing much really. The boss fight looms near.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My knowledge of SAO largely comes from other fanfics and what little I’ve gathered from my past days in the fandom. To be honest, I’ve been pretty out of touch with this fandom. Forgive me if it’s a little weird. Progressing a little bit faster than I’d want it to, but my stories control me more than I control them. Enjoy.

Argo briefly wondered how her life had fallen apart in a matter of weeks. First there was the whole “congrats on getting trapped in a death game” thing thanks to the wonderful creator of Sword Art Online. Next was the fact that her most reliable source of information and personal guard dog whenever she managed to aggravate someone had also entered the game but had somehow been replaced by his brother(?), an equally reckless teenager but without any of the game sense or self-preservation that Kii-bou used to keep himself alive. The plus side of that was that he was apparently very talented at fighting, which was more than slightly concerning and was lucky enough to stay alive despite the numerous dungeons that he had soloed. Kirito was very different from the boy that Argo had called a friend(she never did tell him that, and something told her she would never be able to do so), a darkness in his eyes that spoke of experience beyond the world of video games. She shuddered at the thought of a teenager having the knowledge of how to fight and kill, outnumbered but never outgunned. Kii-bou used a combination of the right weapons and armour, along with a perfectionist nature that could almost be considered obsessive in order to deal the most damage whil taking the least number of hits. A skillset like that would have been very useful for the way the world had changed and how precious lives truly were now. No respawns. Kirito acted almost the same way, except he wasn’t reliant on his weapons or any potions to ensure his health remained at a comfortable level. The teenager with black and white hair was a dual-wielder, something that people had tried in the beta but never truly succeeded due to the fact that there wasn’t a skill tree for that specific class. Except, instead of using both swords at once, Kirito perceived them as separate weapons, chaining together Sword Skills and regular blows, making sure his first target was down before moving on to the second. And then there was another thing that had made Argo develop a grudging respect for his skills. Something that people had discovered in the beta was the fact that critical points existed on mobs, but more often than not they were located in hard to reach places, most often the eyes. While additional damage was handy, the risk that came with targeting such points and missing was high enough that only the most determined of players(especially those who specialized in playing as rogues) developed their fighting styles around targeting weak spots. Kirito had no such qualms. For a self-proclaimed noob who had never touched Sword Art Online, he was awfully good with throwing knives for the extra damage and stun he needed, or even making an effort to chop off a limb to get an advantage. Instead of the hit-and-run style that most players had adopted, everyone being more concerned with keeping their own lives rather than “the glory of battle” as testosterone-filled adolescents enjoyed talking about, he seemed to enjoy putting his life in danger by using a build based entirely around maximum damage(and refused to show her his distribution of stats). She pointedly ignored the part of her head that reminded her she was also part of that group she looked upon with disdain. 

Of course, death game and possible murderer aside, there was the stray that Kirito had picked up in a dungeon. She paused to think about that sentence, before dismissing the odd feeling that the universe was laughing at her. The girl called Asuna. Easily one of the most beautiful members of the girl population of Aincrad(which wasn’t the biggest to begin with) and not a single hint of avatar alteration. Not like it was possible, with Kayaba Akhiko’s handy last minute present to ensure everyone in here knew each others’ real faces. Perhaps all of this was being recorded and broadcasted to the outside world? Argo shook her head to herself. The creator of SAO claimed that he was doing this because he wanted to make his dreams into reality. If a man was willing to create something, something that took years of his life just to be used in a single grand scheme, he wouldn’t be doing it for the entertainment of the world. Analysis of the mind of the mad genius who had decided to leave people in a game of death aside, Asuna. Or since Kirito refused to call her by her name, “Miss Fencer”. Found fighting alone in a dungeon, like a female parody of the boy himself, except apparently she was going to die if he hadn’t stepped in just in time. Of course, that brought up the question of how he had culled all the remaining ones on his own, considering it had been one of those experience points grinding spot that would prove a challenge for even the highest levelled players right now(that being level nine, a “Diavel” who she faintly recalled from the beta). That was another thing to add to the list of evidence proving that there was something very wrong with Kirito. There was something wrong with her. Her eyes didn’t have that spark of life that even Kirito held, and considering that one was a regular human girl and the other was most likely some psycho AI that had managed to create an avatar and was masquerading as Kii-bou for some reason that she didn’t know about. Kirito had mentioned that she was ready to die, throw her life away rather than stay in this game. And that he had taken it upon himself to fix her mindset. Something that definitely wasn’t for casual conversation, and definitely not to be mentioned as casually as he had done so, while waiting for her to finish cateloguing the data he had sent in exchange for some Col. 

Argo had immediately pestered him until he reluctantly told her the entire story, and then had to restrain herself from immediately turning her cursor orange. After a series of questions that largely carried the same underlying message(the fact that he was a borderline suicidal teenager attempting to take care of another suicidal teenager), she managed to convince Kirito to tell her if Asuna needed anything(like another female to talk to). Considering how he hadn’t contacted her for anything other than some more information dumps, she hoped Asuna was doing fine(and Argo had taken another few minutes each visit to get a status report). The almost proud way he had been talking about her innate talent for fighting was a giant red flag that didn’t exactly give her the most confidence about the way he was taking care of her. From the few times she got to interact with Asuna, Argo could tell that she was, indeed, recovering from being suicidal. Kudos to Kirito for doing something right. At least, that was what she thought. 

Diavel had paid her for information, and despite the many instincts that she had cultivated over the beta that she relied on to be a proper information broker, she had obliged. When he had asked about anyone who could take the fall if the information was faulty, Argo had immediately thought of the enigma. Already setting off every alarm in her head despite the brief time that they had known each other. As much as she would hate herself for it, a little nudge here and there would be all Argo needed in order to turn Kirito into a proper scapegoat. He was already starting to become the perfect candidate. No contacts with the outside world apart from her and a man that he was selling almost all of the gear he had collected to. Oh, and Asuna of course. But Asuna didn’t exactly count considering the fact that she was as disconnected from the world as he was. Then there was the strength and finesse that came with experience and according to the pricks out there, anyone with any modicrum of skill that didn’t work in a team was a filthy beta tester. Combine those two, and you got Kirito, the loner with strength that couldn’t be explained, able to cut down hordes of mobs with nothing more than simple swords. And now there was this. The awkward situation that the first ever strategy meeting for the floor boss had become. When that cactus-hair guy started spouting nonsense about how beta testers should apologize for exploiting whatever knowledge they had of the game without sharing it with the rest of them(and in her heart, Argo knew that this Kibaou, this absolute prick would ditch everyone in a heartbeat if the situations were reversed), and Kirito had stood up for the beta testers(including himself, except he didn’t know that, did he?), Kirito's place on the “Argo’s scale of people” went up a few notches. Of course, it turned out that Asuna had developed some sort of a protective streak for her teacher. Not exactly sure what was running through her brain at the time, but the fencer, concealed by her raggedy cloak, had unsheathed her rapier and pressed it against the bastard’s neck. A soft threat rang out, one that was delivered in a monotone but carried the steel she often heard in Kirito’s words. Some of the other players had already left the strategy meeting, others like Agil(the merchant Kirito had chosen to sponsor) were stuck gaping like fishes at the spectacle unfolding before them. Argo smirked almost sadistically. Threat of murder aside, it was nice to see someone finally put the guy in his place. 

A beat or two of silence passed, Kirito impassive as always(though she detected the slightest hint of a smirk on his face), Kibaou trying his best not to pass out from fear and Asuna casually holding him at sword-point, the light in her eyes blazing brighter than it had ever done so. The tension was so thick it could have been cut with a blade. Yet, the spell was broken almost effortlessly when Kirito stepped forward, patted the man on his shoulder in a manner that screamed “I’m mocking you” before grasping Asuna’s rapier in his hand and gently moving it away from the very fragile neck it had been placed against. The girl and her caretaker exchanged a look before he turned around and walked off, soon followed by her after she had sheathed the blade. The two of them seemed to have an innate ability for ignoring everyone else. Before they could finish making their way up the stone steps, the cactus man decided to seal his fate when the first thing that came out of his mouth after he had regained his bearings was an insult. 

“Hear me you filthy beta tester! You and your bitch have no right to act so high and mighty when-” he couldn’t finish his sentence when the temperature seemed to drop and Kirito turned around so quickly she could faintly hear his neck crack. Argo swallowed. The oppressive aura that he was giving off wasn’t even directed at her, but every primal instinct was already screaming for her to run away and hide. He slowly made his way back down, footsteps echoing impossibly loud and looking unnaturally intimidating despite the fact that he was only wearing a plain shirt and shorts. A quick series of flicks and two swords materialized on his back, not yet drawn but already ready to taste more blood. He smiled, a bitter, nasty thing that made Kibaou fall to hiis knees when Kirito got right up in his face. The boy with black and white hair just kept smiling, ignoring the whispers around him to put his full attention on the man cowering at his feet. Almost tantalizingly slow, he opened up his menu, pressed a few buttons and chuckled. The smile on his face turned into a full-blown grin when a window popped up in front of Kibaou, and Argo got closer just to see that it was an invitation to a duel. At that point, she could see that the man was torn between protecting his own fragile masculine ego and escaping from what was obviously a trap. His hand hovered over the two buttons, trembling violently as Kirito looked down on him with eyes that screamed his malicious intent and the hand on his sword did nothing to dissuade the thought that he was going to kill Kibaou for daring to call Asuna a bitch. On the bright side, it appeared that she had been worried about the girl for nothing if Kirito was so hostile over something as small as a slur. Although, she thought bemusedly when she noticed how Asuna was being held back with his other hand, her eyes screaming bloody murder, it appears that this goes both ways. The cactus-haired man eyed the seething duo, and like the cockroach that he was, used what little brain power he had to reject the duel before running away as fast as his legs could take him. Immediately, whatever threatening figure Kirito had somehow managed to summon on command vanished along with his swords. He muttered something to Asuna that sounded like “let’s go home” before she made a noise of affirmation and grabbed his hand. Ignoring the way he was spluttering, the girl practically dragged him off, resolutely ignoring everyone staring at them like she had been doing for the last five minutes. Argo rolled her eyes before following them, making sure to keep a safe distance between herself and the duo as they exchanged words that somehow managed to get the other girl to smack Kirito over the head. They lapsed into what looked like a comfortable silence, hands still interlocked. Deciding that she couldn’t pass up such a great opportunity, she began a running start before pouncing onto the male teenager’s back(also catching the miniscule twitch he had made as she started running). Unfazed as per usual, he adjusted slightly to compensate for the extra weight he had to carry before continuing to walk. Asuna gave her a suspicious look before not so subtly stepping closer to Kirito. Argo snickered and gave her the best wicked grin she could muster. 

“I look away for five seconds and you’re already getting into trouble.” Kirito hummed in response, acknowledging the point but not caring for its implications. 

“That guy was dissing beta testers. As much as I agree with him that certain people are horrendously selfish, you can’t exactly blame all of this on them. Besides…” he tilted his head back slightly so that they could make eye contact before smirking. 

“You’re probably responsible for most of the information distribution in Aincrad and you’re a beta tester as well.” Argo felt her grin die almost immediately. She knew it had been too much to hope that he wouldn’t connect the dots with how he quietly assessed every situation he was tossed into, but she had still held on to it. 

“How do you know that Argo’s a beta tester?” Asuna, left out of the loop, asked while tilting her head to one side in a manner that made her want to hug this naive child that was too pure for the world. 

“She let slip during our first meeting that she knew the name ‘Kirito’ before I even met her. A little questioning led me to understand that she had met my brother, whose NerveGear I just happened to borrow on the day Kayaba Akhiko decided to turn this into a death game. Considering he did it on the first day of launch, the logical conclusion would be that Argo knew my brother from the beta.” Asuna nodded thoughtfully before finally noticing that she was still holding hands with Kirito and immediately started to resemble a tomato. Argo did her best not to giggle at how flustered the confident girl was by something as simple as hand holding, but judging from the unimpressed pout, she was failing at that. 

“Yeah, I met Kii-bou in the beta. It was quite a shock to see a different person using the same name as one of my friends. Anyway, moving on from that, I’m guessing you were the first one to find the boss room?” much to her surprise, Kirito shook his head before breaking contact with Asuna in order to gently dig his knuckles into the top of the girl’s head. Considering the only thing she did in response was let out a single noise of pain before rolling her eyes and retaliating by flicking his ear, this happened pretty often. 

“Miss Fencer here found it. Wandered off when we were clearing the dungeon, was halfway into the boss room before I pulled her out. Did a quick peek to check that my suspicions were correct before high-tailing it out of there and casually dropping the information to Agil on one of my supply runs. One thing led to another and that knight guy found it with his party.” she mulled over the words in her head before asking the obvious question. 

“Why didn’t the two of you take credit for it?” in a rare display of emotion from both parties, Asuna and Kirito lightly laughed at the same time before he shook his head.

“I know what people think of me. Like that guy from earlier, someone would have found a way to make me look like the bad guy for doing something as simple as finding a boss room. Besides, I don’t really care about all that. My mission is to clear the game, not a leadership position. I’ve never been one for politics.” ignoring the slight twitch of the corner of his mouth that indicated an inside joke neither of the girls knew about, she accepted the logical answer to the question. 

“Kirito-kun, what was Diavel talking about just now? Parties? Rotation?” her new mode of transportation stumbled and almost fell at the question before regaining his composure. Smiling awkwardly while muttering something that sounded suspiciously like “I forgot about that” before rubbing his temples, Kirito turned to Argo. 

“Help the two of us out here, would you kindly? I understood about ten percent of what he said.” Argo stared with as deadpan a look as she could muster before snapping her fingers in realization. 

“Right, I forgot the two of you were noobs. Listen carefully, Argo nee-san is going to educate you about the wonders of fighting, so make sure to ask questions if you don’t get it.” she cycled through the necessary information in her mind, hoping that she wouldn’t leave anything important out. As talented as the two before her were, it was almost sobering to remember that the skills they possessed were innate(Asuna) or cultivated somewhere else(Kirito). This was going to be a long talk. She was glad that the system didn’t make you thirsty if you talked too much. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s the end of that. More exposition, I think that’s what this is called as we inch closer to the boss battle. That’s when canon truly starts to fall apart. I give it another chapter. Or two. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. See ya.


	6. Author's Note: An apology and confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something I should have done a long time ago.

I must confess that I should have done this a month or two ago. I’ve been away for what, 2 months now on some of these stories. So uh, this is an explanation. The bare bones of it is that I needed a little time to reset. When quarantine came about, all that I knew was writing. Of course, it made it so that I could churn out a chapter per day, but once I had to go back to school, all of my motivation just kind of...vanished. So I created a new story to keep myself warmed up. Still, when my one month self-imposed “relaxation” ended, a couple of problems came about. One is directly related to my real life, so I won’t talk too much about it. Essentially, the household I live in...isn’t the best. And as much as I hate it, I’ve gotten used to it. It’s not something I should get used to. So yeah, motivation isn’t the best, and with my parents and everything, it took everything I had to just go about my day with a smile on my face, much less write. Nevertheless, I tried. And I failed. For that, I apologize. And then the term rolled around, with it the examinations I (do not) love. So now I’m desperately cramming everything I possibly can in the weeks I have before the multitude of tests I have to take. 

So it is with great displeasure that I announce that I am now putting all my stories on hiatus. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take, probably a couple of months, but I will come back. I know that other authors update around once every few months, but well, my writing is sub-par. Can’t exactly update once every month with that kind of content. I will not let these stories die, so I’ll be back. Look forward to it I suppose. 

Writing is and always will be my escape from reality. And as much as I keep saying that I’m going to stop running from my problem, I guess that I’ve never changed. Can’t exactly say that I don’t like that. Still, I’ve gotta stop running for a while now. See ya next time.

**Author's Note:**

> A shorter chapter than usual because I felt that it was apt to end here. This, of course, is only chapter 1. And as with chapter 1 of my other stories, it's meant to set up the stage. Introduce my main player. Prepare the set. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Leave a comment. I always appreciate advice.


End file.
